After she left, Paul went into his room to change into pajama pants and a T-shirt. He brushed his teeth and then went to the living room to stretch out on the other sofa. If Ethan woke up, he wanted to be there so he wouldn’t be afraid.

Paul turned off the light and tried to make himself comfortable on the sofa. He was on his way to sleep when Alex and Jenny came in giggling and whispering. She let out a squeak of laughter when Alex wrapped his arms around her and lifted her, carrying her the rest of the way to their room.

Long after the door closed behind them, Paul was awake, staring into the darkness, wondering how his life had been reduced to nothing more than work and endless responsibility.

The next thing he knew, he was awakened by a sound that had him sitting up and wiping the sleep from his eyes to see Hope in the pre-dawn darkness. “Hey.”

“Sorry to bother you,” she whispered. “I was going to try to take Ethan home.”

“Are you okay?”

“I… Lisa died at four a.m.”

Before he took a second to think about what he was doing, Paul stood to hold her while she cried. He guided her to the sofa where he’d been sleeping.

She cried silently, sobs shaking her shoulders.

Paul rubbed her back in small circles while trying not to notice how amazing she smelled or how perfectly she fit in his arms.

“I’m so sorry to lose it,” she whispered.

“Don’t be.”

“It’s just… What happened to her… It’s my worst nightmare as a single mom.” She shuddered as another sob echoed through her. “My heart breaks for those poor little boys. Their lives will never be the same.”

“It’s so sad. She was lucky to have had you and Katie and Mallory at the end.”

“We did what we could to make her comfortable.” She wiped the tears from her face. “I shouldn’t be crying all over you. You’re my boss.”

“Come on. I thought we were friends by now.”

To his dismay, she started crying again. “Hope…” He hugged her to him as she continued to sob.

“God, this is mortifying.”

“No need to be mortified.”

She raised her head from his chest and stared at him. In the pearly light, he watched her zero in on his lips.

His heart stopped while he waited to see what she would do. He had no idea whether he should pull her closer or push her away.

She solved the problem for him when she laid her lips on his.

For a second, Paul was too shocked to react, but then instinct kicked in and the long dry spell was forgotten. He cupped her face and tipped his head, wanting to delve deeper.

Hope moaned and then her hand was in his hair, pulling him closer.